


As Long as We're Here

by jetreadsstuff



Series: The Beachfic Duology [2]
Category: unnamed bad space show
Genre: College AU, F/F, M/M, Slow Burn, Summer Vacation, beach au, platonic klance, trans girl keith
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-30
Updated: 2021-02-25
Packaged: 2021-03-06 05:00:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 13,712
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25617745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jetreadsstuff/pseuds/jetreadsstuff
Summary: Leandro and Red have been very good friends for the past couple of months. Leandro has even invited Red to spend the summer vacation with his family! There's a lot going on this summer, and they keep each other sane through family weddings, summer jobs, potential crushes and that's only the tip of this iceberg. As tensions rise, will Leandro and Red be able to have the perfect summer they've been planning?(sequel to we could blame it all on human nature)
Relationships: Allura/Keith (Voltron), Hunk/Lance (Voltron)
Series: The Beachfic Duology [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1856947
Kudos: 3





	1. Another Whirlwind adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note: I, the author, am a mixed-race Chicana. I have tried my best to be respectful of Cuban-American culture and people, but if anything in this work is inaccurate or disrespectful, please let me know and I will change it and apologize.  
> I have noticed a pattern in a lot of fics about Latino characters, where their ethnic traits are washed away to the point where it's like "this is my oc, Bob" or the ethnic traits that are present are entirely rooted in stereotypes or ignorance. I am attempting to create a narrative where the characters in it feel like real people. Fleshed out. Proud of their roots but not defined by them. This fic is pure indulgence for me, a love letter to the types of stories that I wanted to see as a little girl and never got.  
> I hope you all enjoy reading this as much as I have writing it!

“Alright,” Leandro zipped his suitcase shut, “got everything?”

“Yes,” Red sat on her bed playing on her phone. She had been done packing for hours.

“Are you sure, Red?” Leandro asked.

“Just because I didn’t take six hours to pack-”

“I did not take six hours,” Leandro protested.

“I timed it. You started at one when you got back,” Red said plainly.

“You did not,” Leandro rolled his eyes.

“1:06 pm, I texted Allura that you just walked through the door.”

“Whatever,” Leandro held up a hand, “not important. Do you have everything?”

“Yes, Leandro,” she answered.

“Toothbrush?”

“Yes.”

“Laptop?”

“Yes.”

“Your-”

“Leandro,” Red tossed her phone to the side, “whatever it is, the answer is yes. I have everything I need.”

“I just wanted to check that you were sure!”

“The real question is, are _you_ sure that you’re packed?” 

“Yes,” his eyes darted back to his suitcase. He was thinking about it.

“Come on. It’s already seven. We have to go,” Red stood and grabbed her suitcase.

“But now you have me second-guessing myself,” Leandro protested.

“Second guess yourself in the car,” she said, “we do not have time for this.”

“But-”

“Were you this insufferable the last time?” Red asked, “Shiro already texted me that he was going to kill us if we weren’t there in a half hour.”

“The restaurant is on campus,” Leandro pointed out.

“He texted me that forty minutes ago.”

“Okay, yeah, let’s go,” Leandro rolled his suitcase to the door, “you ready?”

“We have well established that I’m ready.”

“No, I mean,” Leandro sighed, “for this. There’s a lot going on this summer, and what you got at spring break was just a sampler platter of all the theatrics. I just don’t-”

“Leandro?”

“Yeah?”

“Even if I wasn’t up for this, which I am, by the way, there’s no way I’m letting you do this by yourself.”

“Okay,” Leandro looked at her, “okay.”

“Now, let’s go, before Shiro kills one of us.”

“Or both,” Leandro agreed, opening the door.

* * *

Dinner was short, Shiro made a point to remind both of them, several times, that they would have been able to stay longer had Red and Leandro actually been on time. But everyone, save for Katie, had plane rides early the next day. They all gathered in front of the car to say their goodbyes.

“Are you sure you don’t want to ride with us?” Leandro asked, “I mean, you’re only an hour away. It makes sense to-”

“We’ve been over this,” Hunk interrupted, clearly exasperated, “my mom has things planned, like, as soon as I leave the airport.”

“I’m gonna miss you,” Leandro was fighting a losing battle.

“You’ll see me next weekend!” Hunk pointed out.

“I’ve gotta go from seeing you every day to every weekend,” Leandro said. Katie, listening in from the other side of the car, almost broke her vow of secrecy on the matter to point out that she wasn’t going to be able to see her girlfriend practically the whole summer.

“Somehow, I think we’ll manage,” Hunk said, and kissed his boyfriend, “call me when you get there. I don’t care what time it is, I’ll pick up.”

“Okay,” Leandro sighed.

“Leandro,” Red faced her phone screen towards him and pointed at the clock.

“Why do we have to leave right now?” Leandro groaned.

“This was your idea,” Red pointed out, “if we leave right now, we get there tomorrow afternoon instead of the middle of the night.”

“Be that as it may,” Leandro raised his voice, “it’s still annoying. Nice in theory, shitty in practice.”

“I agree,” Red shot a glare his way, “but you’re not the one driving first. Quit whining.”

“She has a point,” Shiro agreed.

“I have to drive all night,” Red continued, “and I’m eager to get it over with, so…”

“Well, alright,” Leandro folded his arms, “I guess we should go so that you guys can get your shitty eight hours and get on your shitty plane.”

“Okay, you need a nap,” Red put a hand on his shoulder, “good timing.”

“Bye, guys, if I don’t call all of you in eighteen hours it’s because Red has killed me,” Leandro waved and climbed in the passenger seat.

“Eighteen hours alone with Leandro in a car,” Shiro shook his head, “you have my condolences.”

“I live with the guy,” Red shrugged.

“Yeah, but at home, you can put on your headphones or, you know, go to the bathroom,” Shiro reached out a hand and gave Red a dude hug, “text me when you get there.”

“You’ll be over international waters,” Red pointed out, “and you’re gonna pack your phone in your suitcase out of anxiety.”

“Text me anyway, alright?” Shiro requested.

“Sure,” Red opened the front door to the car and said a final goodbye to everyone. Leandro tossed the keys in her direction.

“Driver picks the music,” he said.

“Really?” Red asked.

“Sure,” Leandro yawned, “I’m gonna be asleep anyway.”

Red started the car. She gave the clock a glance before backing out. 8:45. Already running late

* * *

How Leandro managed to pass out at around 9:30, Red did not know, but she was glad to have the peace and quiet. Simultaneously, she was a bit anxious. Julia told her that they needed to talk about something important. What could Leandros’ mother possibly need to talk to Red about?

In any case, at about three am when he woke up again, overslept yet still somehow completely exhausted, she was glad to have the company again.

“How long was I out for?” Leandro asked.

“Little longer than five hours,” Red answered, not taking her eyes off of the road. Leandro groaned and thumped his head on the back of his seat.

“I can think of smarter ways to knock yourself out cold. For instance, there’s a very heavy textbook under the seat,” Red suggested.

“It is too early in the morning for your sass,” Leandro grumbled, “where are the energy drinks again?”

“What are you drinking my energy drinks for? You have coffee,” Red pointed out.

“Coffee that is both unmade and very warm,” Leandro said.

“Then why did you bring it?”

“I overpack, sue me,” Leandro shrugged.

“Energy drinks are in the glove box.”

“Sure, right, that’s where they go,” Leandro pulled the handle.

“Do you want an energy drink or not?” Red glanced over.

“Right. Thanks,” Leandro said sheepishly.

“Yep,” the two of them went silent again. For a minute, Red wondered if Leandro had fallen back asleep.

“So, I heard my mom is going to have the talk with you,” Leandro tapped the top of the can.

“Someone should tell your mom that I took a health class in high school,” she was trying to lighten the mood, but her grip tightened on the steering wheel all the same.

“Not that the talk,” Leandro rolled his eyes, realized she could not see him and added, “I’m rolling my eyes at you.”

“What kind of talk, exactly?” Red asked.

“You know,” Leandro hesitated, “she did the same thing with Claudia when she and Rose got engaged.”

“Still totally lost.”

“Bad time for use of the word lost,” Leandro said, “anyway, it’s sort of a welcome to the family talk.”

“That’s very sweet,” Red’s shoulders slumped, “you guys had me worried about what exactly she wanted to talk about.”

“Well,” Leandro laughed uncomfortably, “it’s not exactly as simple as her saying ‘I consider you family and I want you to feel at home here’ and just sending you off with a party hat and a daiquiri.”

“What do you mean?” Red furrowed her brow.

“Not that being family and feeling at home aren’t the two main reasons that she’s having the conversation with you to begin with,” Leandro added.

“Leandro?” Red asked.

“But it’s not like, a party, it’s not all-”

“Leandro,” she said, more firm this time.

“Yes?”

“You’re freaking me out,” she said.

“Oh,” Leandro paused, “well, it’s nothing to freak out about over.”

“Right,” Red raised an eyebrow.

“But...well...it’s hard to explain. You know those scenes in teen movies-”

“You have already lost me,” Red interrupted.

“She’s going to sort of explain to you the intricacies of the family. You know, like, how the family interacts. Stuff you’re not supposed to bring up, stuff that you are encouraged to. It’s like…” he trailed off.

“Orientation,” Red finished.

“Exactly,” Leandro nodded, “it’s exactly orientation.”

“Okay. And you couldn’t have done this because?”

“I don’t know everything as well as my mother. Her dad was one of five, like me, and I have a lot of cousins. Some I have met, some I haven’t because of. Well, bad blood.”

“Okay?” Red shifted gears. 

“It’s really for your own good,” Leandro said, “it will keep you from running into awkward situations this summer.”

“Okay,” Red sighed, “that doesn’t sound so bad.”

“It really isn’t,” Leandro agreed, “there is one thing that I did need to talk to you about, though.”

“What?” Red asked.

“Well. Two things. Well, no, actually, one thing.”

“I’m on the edge of my seat,” Red muttered.

“Well, there’s this one thing but it isn’t really a question for me. It’s one from my sister. Well, no, Claudia. Who’s my sister now so I guess the distinction doesn’t...whatever. You know what I mean. Anyway, do you want to hear about my thing first or Claudia’s?”

“Uh…” Red paused, “Claudia’s thing first, I guess?”

“Cool,” Leandro said, “so, there’s not really like. Bridesmaids and groomsmen. Some of my sister’s guests are men and some are women but you know, two bridal parties.”

“Uh-huh.”

“The issue here is that Rose’s party, me, Carmen, her high school best friends Jalil and Monique, and then Claudia’s party is...well...nobody.”

“Nobody?” Red asked.

“She has...well, no siblings. Very few family members. Her friend Dom is coming I think, but that’s, like, it.”

“What about Penny?” Red asked.

“Penny is gonna be the flower girl.”

“Allura?”

“Yeah, Allura’s one of Claudia’s. That leaves two spots. And, well, she doesn’t know you all that well, but she likes you a lot.”

“Your sister in law wants me to be part of her bridal party.”

“Yes,” Leandro looked down, “she’ll understand if you don’t want to do it. It’s not like she’s worried about being one-upped by Rose’s half of the guest list. It’s just that I’ve caught her being a little sad about it. So I told her ‘Red might be in your party. She really likes you’ and she was just so happy.”

“Well,” Red sighed, “I would love to be in Claudia’s bridal party.”

“How much of that enthusiasm is being forced out of politeness?”

“Hm,” Red considered this, “about 25%.”

“That’s the perfect amount!” Leandro shouted. Red laughed.

“So, the other thing?”

“What other thing?”

“Leandro,” she blinked, “the other thing you needed to talk about.”

“Right, that,” Leandro scratched his chin, “so, I’m going out of town every couple of weekends to see Hunk.”

“So I’ve heard,” Red nodded.

“So you’d be home some weekends just with my mom and Penny.”

“Uh-huh.”

“Is that okay?” Leandro asked.

“Sure?” Red hadn’t really thought about it, “I mean, what am I gonna say even if it wasn’t cool? Take me with you to your boyfriend’s parents?”

“Okay, you have a point,” Leandro agreed, “I just mean. My mother is a little...and Penny can be-”

“I’ll be fine, Leandro,” she assured him, “all else fails I can go to Allura’s place and hang out.”

“Right. You guys are friends, huh?”

“Yeah,” Red answered.

“Good,” Leandro grinned, “it’s good to see my two girls hanging out.”

There was something in his phrasing that made Red involuntarily smile. His two girls. Red was one of his girls. 

“Do you want to switch?” Leandro asked.

“We’re not switching until six,” Red answered, “as per your schedule.”

“It’s an unfair schedule.”

“I agree, but you were such an over the top pain in the ass about it that I would rather die than let you flip it around because you’re bored.”

“Rude,” Leandro yawned, “I think I’m gonna go back to bed.”

“Sounds reasonable,” she said and turned down the radio.

* * *

The two didn’t really coexist for most of the rest of the ride. Occasionally Leandro would wake up for about half a second to Red’s music playing just a little too loud or Leandro would wake her up for about half an hour to eat. Outside of that, there was very little conversing, and this fact led to a lot of boredom on both ends. 

At last, they entered Leandro’s hometown at about three in the afternoon. Right on schedule.

“Red,” Leandro elbowed her in the ribs.

“Huh,” Red asked, still entirely asleep yet somehow lucid enough to process that she was being disturbed by Leandro.

“We’re in town,” he explained.

“Huh,” Red repeated, and then fell back asleep.

“Red!” he shouted. This time one of Red eyes shot open. 

“What?” she mumbled.

“We’re about to be at the house,” he answered.

“And you woke me up early because…”

“I didn’t want you to have to drag around your suitcase half asleep,” Leandro explained.

“Okay,” she yawned. And Leandro thought that was the end of that until she started snoring softly. Leandro opened a water bottle with his free hand and splashed just a few drops in her face.

“Red!” he urged one last time. Red groaned.

“Dude. What the hell?”

“You needed to wake up.”

“You could have tried saying hey, Red, wake up, like a normal person.”

“I did!” Leandro protested.

“Oh,” Red didn’t say anything else. 

“We’re almost there,” Leandro said, “are you excited?”

“Yes,” Red smiled sleepily, “I am.”

“Good,” Leandro smiled, pulling the car into the driveway.

The first thing Leandro noticed was that Julia’s car was missing. The second thing was that the door was locked. The third was that nobody was answering.

“Okay, this isn’t good,” Leandro furrowed his brow.

“Why would Julia leave the house if she knew we were coming?” Red asked, pushing the door as if that was going to help.

“Well,” Leandro laughed, “she might not have known we were coming quite this early.”

“What?” Red asked.

“She. well. I thought it would be a good idea to surprise her. That’s why we left last night instead of this morning,” Leandro explained.

“Well, it worked. She seems really surprised.”

“I’ll call the restaurant,” Leandro sighed.

“Hola, hi! Gracias por llamar ‘Julia’s’. Thank you for calling! How may we help you today?” the woman answered.

“Que vuelta Victoria? It’s Leandro.”

“Leandro! Your mother tells me you’re going to be working part-time at the restaurant this summer.”

“Eh, she wants me to. I’m not so sure,” Leandro explained, and upon receiving a dirty look from Red, added, “can you put Ma on?”

“You know how she likes to be addressed in the workplace,” Victoria said.

“Can you put,” Leandro sighed, “chef Julia on the phone?”

“Absolutely,” she answered. It was a minute before Julia picked up the kitchen phone.

“Miguel, your bunuelos are delicious but they look like asses. How many times must I tell you that nobody wants to be served an ass?” Julia sighed and directed her attention towards her son, “Leandro?”

“Hi, Mami,” Leandro greeted, “I didn’t know that you were working today.”

“Well, how did you know that I was?” she asked.

“Because your car isn’t here,” Leandro explained.

“You’re at the house?” she asked, her volume climbing.

“Yeah. We were going to surprise you.”

“Very sweet,” Julia said, “if ill-conceived. Penny’s not answering the door?”

“I didn’t know she was here,” Leandro said, “but she’s not answering, no.”

“The spare key is not in the owl?” she whispered owl. 

“No.”

“Well, we don’t have a fence. Walk around and knock on Penny’s window,” Julia suggested.

“You’re a genius,” he said.

“Gracias, Cielito. And when I get home, I’ll be sure to act very surprised.”

“Thanks, Mami, you’re the best.”

“Eh,” Julia said.

“Muchas gracias, chef Julia,” Leandro added with an eyeroll.

“See you later. Your eyes are going to get stuck like that, you know.”

So, Leandro found himself walking around the house and approaching his sister’s window. She had headphones on. He banged on the window as loud as he could manage and she startled so hard she fell straight off the bed.

“What the hell are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?” she asked as she opened the window, “can’t you use the door like a normal person?”

“Nena, we tried,” Leandro said, “we tried a lot. You seemed to be preoccupied listening to heavy metal.”

“I do not listen to heavy metal,” Penny protested.

“I was making fun of you,” Leandro said.

“Oh,” Penny cleared her throat, “well, I guess I should go unlock the door.”

“Unless you want us to climb through your window,” Leandro agreed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic is a sequel to We Could Blame It All On Human Nature, a spring break fic which you can find here: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23048116/chapters/55122574  
> You can enjoy either fic independent of one another I think, but they were (are) intended to be a duology. So if you like what you read, you can go read that while I get off my ass and attempt to write the other chapters. Thanks for reading! I love you guys!


	2. Mary Had A Little Freakout

“Okay,” Julia paced around the living room, “so I’ve been filling in for your best man or man of honor whatever duties since you’ve been back at school. And I have prepared a binder.”

She pulled a binder out of her book bag and handed it to Leandro.

“Jesus Christ, it’s like supporting a baby’s head,” Leandro said.

“There’s a color guide to which tab goes to what section but for now let’s focus on the schedule part in the beginning,” Julia continued. Leandro began cautiously flipping through.

“What the hell is this?” Leandro pointed to a word.

“Prueba,” Julia answered.

“I can’t read your handwriting. Your Rs look like Ns and your As look like Us,” Leandro squinted.

“That’s why I typed almost everything. The schedule I didn’t because that damn spreadsheet app,” she glared in the direction of Penny’s computer.

“So, the final fitting,” Leandro said.

“Yes. Two weeks before the wedding,” Julia nodded, “why did your eyes immediately fall to the bottom?”

“I figured the high-stress tasks would be closer to the wedding,” Leandro shrugged.

“This would be a good estimate,” Julia agreed, “you’ll notice you’ll be picking out formalwear tomorrow afternoon.”

Red inhaled her coke down the wrong pipe and began coughing up a storm.

“I’ve never,” Red cleared her throat, “I’ve never had to pick out clothes for a wedding.”

“Oh, it’s nothing to fret over,” Julia smiled at her, “you show up and you look pretty. Muy facil. You’re doing it right now.”

Red coughed once more in response.

“Are you going with, Mami?” Leandro asked.

“I’m not part of the bridal party,” Julia pointed out, “your sister gave us two rules for dressing. Your father can’t wear leather pants, and I can’t wear that broach that I, quote, think goes with everything.”

“Reasonable,” Leandro said.

“I think that your sister may come around, though,” Julia added, “if I pick a dress that goes with it. See, I probably shouldn’t wear exactly the wedding colors, but I don’t want to contrast too much either. But if I just wear plain old black, that’s not-”

“Ma,” Leandro interrupted, “you need to let the broach go if you want to live to see the wedding.”

“Harsh!” Julia exclaimed, “But I admit, you’re probably right. Now, nobody brings up Diego, obviously, or Carmen.”

“Carmen?” Leandro asked, “Don’t tell me Rose and Carmen are fighting now.”

“No more than usual,” Julia said, “but your sister has chosen to spend her summer with your father. And Rose is a little sensitive about how Carmen is going to figure into the whole thing.”

“She can’t come to the fitting from...well...wherever she is,” Penny added.

“Precisely,” Julia agreed, “Carmen texted her measurements, but I think that’s not going to be enough. It’s better to have an actual person.”

“Hm,” Leandro replied.

“Oh, and you were joking about not wanting to do the summer job anymore, right?” Julia asked.

“Yes,” Leandro answered.

“You can start as soon as you’d like. Day after tomorrow is preferable,” she said.

“Day after tomorrow is fine,” Leandro looked back at the binder.

“Red, if you want a summer job, I think that the surf shack is hiring,” Penny suggested.

“Like, the one Allura works at?” Red asked.

“That’s the one,” Penny answered.

“I dunno. I don’t think I’m qualified for that,” Red tapped the edge of her soda can.

“Can you _lift_ a surfboard?” Penny asked.

“Sure?” Red shrugged.

“You’re qualified,” Penny said.

“I guess it couldn’t hurt to talk to her,” Red sounded entirely unconvinced.

“This is going to be a busy summer for all of us,” Julia folded her arms, “but I want you guys to have fun too.”

“I had four hours of homework every day last week,” Leandro said, “I’m pretty sure that anything is fun by comparison.”

“I suppose so,” Julia smiled, “Leandro, could I get your help in the kitchen?”

“How come you never ask me about helping?” Penny looked at her mother.

“Because of the times you almost set the kitchen on fire,” Julia answered without hesitation.

“You said kitchen fires are a normal occurrence at your restaurant,” Penny protested.

“This is with a kitchen staff and in the middle of rushes,” Julia pointed out, “I admit your older siblings have started fires a handful of times at home. But you have the house record of nine fires.”

“Nine?” Penny repeated, “There’s no way I’ve started nine fires.”

“I can show you the scorch marks on my kitchen towels if you would like proof,” Julia raised an eyebrow, “nine. And I plan to keep that number where it is.”

“Fine,” Penny sighed, “I bet Rose will let me cook for her.”

“I will take that bet,” Julia scoffed and disappeared into the kitchen.

* * *

“I’m not showing you,” Leandro said, “you cannot make me come out wearing this.”

“You think yours is bad? I look like if Lady Gaga sang about Mary had a little lamb,” Red shouted from the other dressing room. 

“I can’t believe this was the tux she wants me to wear,” Leandro groaned.

“Right, but your dad’s leather pants aren’t allowed,” Red zipped up her boot.

“Out of the question,” Leandro agreed.

“Punishable by death.”

“Beyond the pale,” Leandro sighed, “okay. We’re going to have to leave the dressing room to show my mom.”

“I don’t follow your logic. I planned on dying in here, actually,” Red argued.

“Counterpoint, if you do that, you’ll die in that dress,” Leandro pointed out.

“God damn it, I hate it when you’re right,” Red stomped her foot in indignation, “okay. You do not laugh or I bring you back to school in a body bag.”

“Why would you do that? If I’m dead, I need an education considerably less. Unless...Weekend at Leandro's?”

“Oh my god,” Red dragged her hands down her face.

“I promise,” Leandro agreed. 

“On three we walk out. Rip the band-aid off.”

“Wait, is that on three or like one two three go?”

“It doesn’t…whatever. On three,” Red answered, “One.”

“Two,” Leandro replied.

“Three!” They yelled together, pulling the doors open.

And their outfits certainly gave them a run for their money. Red wore an amethyst dress with puffy sleeves and a knee length petticoat. Her description of it did not do it justice. It didn’t help that she was wearing it with combat boots. 

Leandro’s was arguably even worse, a cornflower blue disaster featuring a puffy dress shirt and dark suspenders with matching blue dress pants.

“Oh my god,” Red hid her face to avoid smiling.

“Not one word.”

“You look like you’re going to prom in the seventies.”

“That’s ten words,” Leandro said, “what about you? You look like you came here directly from your audition as a disney princess.”

“Your sister is getting married in a plain blue suit, and these are the outfits that she picked?” Red asked. Leandro’s eyes widened.

“Maybe she’s not the one who picked them,” he said.

“Tia Lin?” Red guessed. Leandro nodded. 

“My tux at Diego's was almost as horrible as this one, and Lin is the one who picked that. I’ll ask,” Leandro gestured to himself, “see if I can get this taken care of. Jalil and Monique are gonna kill themselves if they have to see this.”

“Oh, they’ll burn this store down,” Red agreed.

“You haven’t met them,” Leandro pointed out.

“I’m working on how I feel wearing this,” Red explained.

“If we’re lucky, Penny has openly insulted Rose by now and we’ll have to do minimal legwork,” Leandro took her wrist and led her to the main part of the store where Rose was trying on suits. When Julia saw them, she looked aghast.

“Ave Maria!” she stifled a laugh, “you look...adorable.”

“I wouldn’t use this gown to wipe my ass!” Penny shouted as she walked over. Her petticoat was floor length. She narrowly missed falling on her face several times.

“Penelope!” Rose scolded.

“Rosie, you cannot be serious. This is ridiculous!” Penny crossed her arms.

“It’s an homage to a past era!” Rose said.

“Would that be the era before people had eyes?” Penny asked.

“Oh, boy,” Julia set her drink down.

“It’s tradition! It was good enough for Abuelo Ernesto and Abuela Marie, it was good enough for Tia Lin and Tio Lenny-”

“Lin and Lenny?” Red mumbled, prompting Leandro to elbow her in the ribs.

“We’re a new generation, Penny, we don’t have to dress like nursery rhyme characters,” Penny said.

“Diego and Teresa did it,” Rose pointed out.

“Diego and Teresa. Since when do you care what-” Penny cut herself off.

Rose’s face fell. She looked like she had no idea what to say next. The room was silent, only the sound of Julia sipping her drink.

“Wear what you want,” Rose said. And then walked away.

“Penelope,” Julia started.

“I didn’t mean to let it get heated,” Penny attempted to sit down, realized she could not in this dress, and resolved to leaning over the chair awkwardly.

“I know, Nena,” Julia said, “but I told you, your sister is very stressed out. She’s sensitive.”

“I’ve been holding back on telling her I hate the outfits for the very same reason,” Claudia admitted.

“I want you to go find your sister,” Julia said.

“She needs space to cool off,” Penny said.

“I have known your sister for a very long time, and the response you just got is as cooled off as it gets,” Julia pointed in the direction Rose went.

“Okay,” Penny sighed, and headed off. It didn’t take long to find her sister. A department store is only so big, afterall. She was sitting in a chair, hunched forward staring at a clearance rack.

“Hi,” Rose mumbled.

“I wanted to say I’m sorry,” Penny started.

“It’s okay,” Rose waved a dismissive hand, “I remember complaining about my outfit at every wedding I’ve ever been in. Just...you’re supposed to do that behind my back, you know.”

“And I will,” Penny said, “but I’ll wear it, because that’s what you do, and then I’ll make you wear something atrocious at my wedding as revenge.”

“Good plan, Nena,” Rose still wasn’t looking up.

“And I’m sorry for the Diego thing,” Penny added.

“It’s alright,” Rose shrugged, “I brought it up.”

“Even still,” Penny said.

“You know what the worst thing is?” Rose looked at her.

“What’s the worst thing?” Penny asked.

“I always thought Diego would be here,” Rose shut her eyes, “I always thought he was going to be here with me helping me plan this. More than you, no offence, more than Mami. I wanted him here.”

Penny thought about what Diego had said about not wanting to break her heart.

“And he was so accepting and wonderful when I came out. I just thought there was nothing else to worry about,” she looked down, “but I guess I was wrong.”

“I don’t think that,” Penny was already regretting her words, “that Diego ever meant to hurt you.”

“Me either,” she smiled softly, “but he did. And I have to deal with it. And it’s not fair for me to ask you to walk on eggshells with me.”

“None of this is fair,” Penny replied.

“Maybe so, Nena,” Rose stood, “we should get back. There’s a lot of cake to eat and Allura hasn’t even tried on hers yet.”

“Okay,” Penny nodded, “are you gonna be alright?”

“No,” Rose said, “but I can fake it. A skill that you very well need to learn if you’re gonna be in more weddings.”

“Yes,” Penny took her hand, “teach me, oh wise master.”

* * *

By the end of Leandro’s first day at his mother’s restaurant, he had spilled hot soup all over himself, cut his finger, recommended entirely the wrong dessert, and nearly set the saucier on fire. It had been a long time since he had worked in that restaurant. 

“Hey,” he greeted.

“What the hell happened to you?” Red nearly fell off the couch.

“I’m a bad waiter,” Leandro answered.

“I’m pretty sure I bombed my interview at the surf shack,” Red said, “if that makes you feel better.”

“Mazel tov,” Leandro sat down, “we suck.”

“Cheers to that,” Red raised her drink.

“Can you get me one of those? I would do so myself but I just worked for six hours and I think I live on this couch now,” Leandro said.

“In a minute,” Red answered, scribbling in her sketchbook.

“Come on, you can stop drawing your,” Leandro leaned over her shoulder, “what exactly am I looking at, here?”

“Get off of me, you smell.”

“I do not!” Leandro protested.

“Yes you do. You smell like onions and fear,” she said.

“Well you smell like a Christmas tree, which is entirely unacceptable for this household,” Leandro retorted.

“It’s my body wash!” 

“For only twelve dollars, you too can feel like there’s a pine tree bounty hunting you,” Leandro said.

“Shut up,” Red shook her head with a barely contained grin, “do you think maybe there’s an opening at your mom’s restaurant for one more?”

“You’re going to insult me and then ask me for a job?”

“Reverse psychology?”

“I’ll look, but,” Leandro shrugged, “no promises.”

“I have no idea what I’m gonna do without you hanging out with me all the time. It’s day one, and I’m already bored,” Red sighed.

“I think we’ll manage. We still live together,” Leandro pointed out.

“Yeah,” Red paused, “where’s Jules?”

“She’s gonna be about another hour,” Leandro explained, “Penny?” 

“Asleep,” Red answered, “aka she’s in bed playing on her phone telling herself she’s gonna go to bed in ten minutes.”

“Sounds like her,” Leandro laughed, “do you want to watch something stupid?”

“What kind of stupid?”

“I’m in the mood for a cheesy romcom,” Leandro suggested.

“Alright,” Red answered, “but you’re showering first. I can’t sit next to that all night.”

“Okay,” Leandro said, “but I need you to walk me over. My legs are total jelly.”

Red laughed.

“I’m serious, Red.”


	3. Negotiations

“Coran, please,” Allura begged, “please hire my friend Red.”

“Allura,” he sighed, “I don’t know about that girl. She’s too robotic. This is a surf shack, not a five star hotel.”

“You can’t really blame her for that,” Allura said, “she’s been trained by corporate America to be a workbot.”

“We don’t  _ do _ corporate America here,” Coran leaned against the counter, “Red is a very nice girl, but I don’t think that-”

“If you hire her, I’ll scrape the algae off all the rentals,” Allura offered.

“You don’t scrape the algae off the rentals?” Coran shot her a glare. She plastered on a smile.

“That’s not the point,” she shrugged, “the point is, you won’t regret hiring her.”

“How would you know anything about the way she would behave in a work setting?” he asked, “you spent two weeks with her in spring? This is the basis for your reference?”

“I talk to her every day,” Allura pointed out, “not really that much since she’s been here, but…”

“Allura,” Coran pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Well, she filled in as a bassist for us at the BBC.”

“That she did,” Coran narrowed his eyes.

“She learned a song in a  _ day.  _ And she killed it, might I add. So that proves she’s adaptable, she’s good under pressure, a fast learner, and always shows up when someone needs her.”

Coran just closed his eyes in exasperation.

“She loves surfing. She was even asking me about what distinguishes each type of surfboard,” Allura continued.

“Well a shortboard distinguishes from a fish in that a fish is shorter and has-”

“Not to mention, I’ve seen her with Leandro’s family. She’s really good with people.”

Coran put his clipboard down.

“You’re not gonna let go of this, are you?” he asked.

“Nope.”

“Not all summer?”

“Not until school supplies start going on sale,” she answered.

“I am holding you responsible for her,” he warned, “keep an eye on her as much as you can.”

“You want me to babysit her?” Allura scoffed.

“Whatever you want to call it. Unless you can’t handle that,” Coran tilted his head.

“I can,” Allura insisted.

“Fine,” he answered. 

“Yes!” Allura grinned, “Alright, call her.”

“Now?”

“Now!” she was entirely too excited about this.

“Alright,” he took out his phone and dialed, “you know, this is entirely unfair to the other applicants.”

“What other applicants?” Allura snorted.

“Good point,” Coran said, looking like he was about ready to kill her, “hello, Red. This is Coran from Altea surf shack. I interviewed you a few days ago.”

“Oh, hi!,” Red was trying to sound as normal as she could. But she’d forgotten what her normal voice sounded like in the time it took her to answer the phone. The result was squeaky.

“I was calling to tell you that we’ve accepted your application,” Coran said.

“That’s great,” Red sounded genuinely surprised, “I’m a little relieved to be honest. I didn’t exactly think I killed the interview.”

“You didn’t,” Coran explained, “but Allura explained to me what a great individual you are, and-”

He was interrupted by Allura administering a kick to his shin. 

“What?” Coran whispered. Allura just looked at him, completely mortified.

“Uh, are you still there?” Red asked.

“Yes!” Coran said marginally louder than was acceptable for a phone call, “I was hoping you could start Friday, at noon if that works for you?”

“Friday is great,” Red answered.

“Great! I’ll see you then.”

“Thanks a lot,” Red said.

“Have a nice afternoon, Red.”

“You too.”

Coran hung up.

“Okay, why did you kick me in the shin?” Coran asked.

“She didn’t need to know that I begged you to hire her!” Allura said, trying to keep the volume of her voice at an acceptable level.

“I didn’t tell her that you begged,” Coran protested, “I said you explained what a nice individual-”

“Please, I beg you not to say it again,” she groaned.

“Well,” Coran sighed, “you got what you wanted. She’s hired.”

“At what cost, Coran. At what. Cost,” Allura put her head on the counter, “oh, god, I have to see her tonight.”

“I’m sorry, I was under the impression that you enjoyed being around this girl.”

“Fuck off,” Allura muttered. 

* * *

“This is bullshit,” Penny groaned.

“Don’t say bullshit, Nena,” Leandro scolded.

“You say it,” Penny pointed out.

“I’m an adult,” Leandro retorted.

“You said it when you were my age,” Penny pressed.

“Yeah, and Diego and Rose bit my head off for it,” Leandro looked at her.

“That didn’t stop you if I recall,” Penny grinned.

“Okay, I’ll bite. What’s bullshit?” Red chimed in.

“I could pull up a nature documentary if you’re confused,” Leandro offered, to which Red replied by punching him in the arm.

“Rose is making me take dance classes for the wedding,” Penny explained.

“Not seeing how that is bullshit, Pen,” Red quirked an eyebrow, “I’m taking dance lessons too.”

“Yeah, but it’s different. I mean, I don’t know for sure. You ever take dance classes, Red?” Penny asked.

“No,” Red answered, “Claudia scolded me for not knowing any Bambuco dance moves just the other day. I don’t know who told her my mom was Colombian, but she imprinted on me like a baby duck as soon as she found out.”

“See!” Penny gestured.

“Sure, you can just tap dance and ballet through the whole reception,” Leandro rolled his eyes.

“Those aren’t the only dances I know how to do,” Penny scoffed, “I can mambo, cha cha cha, merengue, tango. I’m a Rivera Cruz. Dance is in my blood.”

“And salsa?” Leandro asked.

“Salsa is a little bitch,” she said, earning a laugh from Red.

“Penny, why are you so resistant to salsa?” Leandro asked.

“Because it’s a stupid dance,” Penny answered, not looking up.

“It’s not,” Leandro protested, “it’s an important part of Cuban culture.”

“I just don’t get why I have to learn salsa,” Penny protested, “it’s not like I’m gonna be dancing it.”

“What if you bring a date?” Leandro asked.

“Flower girls don’t generally bring dates, Leandro,” Penny protested.

“Flower girls aren’t generally seventeen years old,” Leandro shot back, “and everybody has to salsa a little.”

“Look. I’ve tried to learn. I’ve had four instructors try to teach me. It just doesn’t click,” Penny said, “I’m not taking another lesson just to fail at it and get called lazy for not really wanting to know how to learn.”

“Who said that to you?” Leandro stood up, “I’ll kill them.”

“Easy, tiger,” Penny held up a hand, “nobody actually said that to me. I’m just worried that’s what Rose might think.”

“Rose is a lot nicer than you give her credit for, Nena,” Leandro tilted his head.

“She’ll say she understands. And then she’ll get the look in her eyes,” Penny demonstrated the famous look.

“Ah, yes, the look of sadness and disappointment,” Leandro shuddered, “I remember the last time she gave it to me.”

“We  _ all _ remember, Leandro,” Penny said, “Soledad’s eyebrows have never looked the same.”

“I said I was sorry like a thousand times!” Leandro said.

“You can’t say sorry to mister whiskers, though,” Penny pointed out.

“You killed her cat?” Red sat up.

“Mister Whiskers was a turtle,” Penny explained, “and we don’t know where she is. She ran away.”

“She,” Red bit back a laugh, “the turtle ran away.”

“This was a fast turtle,” Leandro explained.

“The fastest. Usain Bolt in turtle form,” Penny agreed.

“Escaped during all the commotion,” Leandro added.

“Sometime between everything going wrong and my mom busting out the fire extinguisher,” Penny continued.

“You were four years old. How do you remember that so well?” Leandro asked.

“A magician never reveals her secrets,” Penny answered, “something that you never learned from Pedro el Magnífico.”

“His magic kit was a goddamn ripoff. How much rope did I ruin trying to do that one trick?”

“If you don’t have it, you don’t have it,” Penny shrugged.

“You guys,” Red, as an only child, was entirely baffled by the way they spoke to each other, “this conversation has gone entirely off the rails.”

“She’s right,” Leandro said, “okay. I’m gonna cut you a deal.”

“Hit me,” Penny put down her switch.

“I’ll talk Rose out of making you do dance lessons,” he offered.

“You’d do that?” Penny asked.

“Sure,” Leandro smiled, “but there is a condition.”

“Anything. I will do all of your laundry the whole time you’re here. You can pick what we watch on TV. I’ll put on your glasses and paint my nails and go to work for you.”

“You let me at least try to teach you how to salsa,” Leandro said.

“Aw, what? Fake-out!” Penny was tempted to boo and hiss at this new development.”

“Just once a week until the wedding. And if you don’t feel confident enough to do it, we won’t make you dance salsa at the wedding,” Leandro continued.

“Really?” Penny’s eyebrows raised, “and you think you can talk her out of that?”

“I talked her out of straightening her hair,” Leandro shrugged, “but you’ve gotta really try, okay? Don’t give up just because you’re getting frustrated.

Penny considered this.

“Deal,” she said.

“Red, do you want in on this?” Leandro asked.

“Dance lessons? With you?” Red looked at him, “I don’t know…”

“It’ll save my sister a chunk of change if I teach you both,” he pointed out.

“Eh, why not,” she shrugged.

“This is gonna be fun!” Leandro beamed.

“Yes, I’m fairly ecstatic as well,” Penny said in her most monotonous voice possible.

“What day do you want to do it?” Leandro asked.

“Not Friday Saturday or Sunday,” Red answered, “that’s when I work.”

“I’m out of town this weekend anyway,” Leandro pointed out, “also I did not know you got the job.”

“I was surprised too, but Coran called me a couple days ago to let me know,” Red explained.

“Well, I have to make a phone call later on, then,” Leandro said.

“Why?” Red asked.

“I may or may not have begged my mother to hire you...extensively,” Leandro looked away.

“That’s very sweet,” Red said, “I’m going to kill you.”

“How about Monday?” Penny asked, “Between dinner and when I video chat with Katie.”

“Sounds good to me,” Leandro agreed.

“Whatever,” Red added.

“I still can’t believe you’re gonna be out of town this weekend,” Penny groaned, “like, we just got you here. That is absolutely not allowed.”

“Right?” Red agreed.

“Guys, it’s just every other weekend,” Leandro pointed out.

“Three day weekends. That’s eighteen days out of the whole summer. That’s practically a full month!” Penny protested.

“Settle down, Nena. I’ll bring you back food, though. From that bakery you like so much?” Leandro offered.

“You mean Mama’s Taste of Mexico?” Penny grinned, “They make the best tres leches in the world. But Mami’s always like-”

“Oye, Nena,” Leandro put on his best Julia impression, “what’s wrong with the tres leches in town? When I was a girl, finding tres leches was like finding a needle in the haystack. We are so lucky to have that here in town, and now you want to drive an hour out of the way?”

“Don’t forget about her comparing the tres leches in town with heaven,” Penny laughed, “you’ll get me tres leches?”

“Cinnamon brownies too,” Leandro nodded, “and churros.”

“Oh. My. God,” Penny said.

“Every other weekend!” Leandro added.

“Alright,” Penny sighed, “visiting Hunk is now a forgivable offence.”

“I’m glad you think so,” Leandro laughed.


	4. Rain and Rockets

Leandro was not panicking. Sure he wasn’t. He was just packing in a timely fashion. 

“Why are you doing that?” Red asked.

“Doing what?” Leandro threw a sweater in his bag with vigorous force.

“First of all, you’re packing sweaters. In summer, In California,” Allura looked up from her magazine. She sat up on Leandro’s bed.

“Second of all,” Red added, “you’re packing like you had to leave an hour ago.”

“I’m packing completely normally,” Leandro protested.

“I’ve seen you pack before. Multiple times. I’ve never seen you like this,” Red was quick to call him on his lies, “you’re totally freaking out,”

“Am not! Why would I freak out?” Leandro’s voice was suddenly matching the pitch of Mariah Carey’s less forgiving tracks. 

“Oh,” Allura said, “ohhhhhh.”

“What are you Oh-ing about?” Leandro raised an eyebrow.

“We’ve been looking at this all wrong,” Allura tightened her ponytail, “he’s freaking out-”

“Not freaking out,” Leandro interrupted.

“He’s freaking out,” Allura repeated with more emphasis, “because this is the first time he’s meeting Hunk’s parents. It’s not just going to stay with him. It’s his parents.”

“You’re just now putting this together, detective?” Leandro asked, “Hunk stayed with my parents during spring break.”

“That was different, though,” Allura pointed out.

“Different like how?” Red folded one of Leandro’s shirts for him.

“Well, first of all, Hunk and Leandro weren’t dating at the time,” Allura answered.

“Yeah, but they were crushing on each other,” Red retorted.

“Are you idiots going to keep talking about me like I’m not even here?” Leandro asked.

“You are welcome and encouraged to participate and refute anything that I’m saying,” Allura said. Leandro rolled his eyes. He was trying his hardest to pretend to be annoyed with Allura, but he was happy to have the company. 

“Anyway, it’s like. A thing. Meeting parents is like a big deal,” Allura added.

“I wouldn’t know,” Red blinked, both referring to the fact she didn’t have parents to speak of and her lack of relationships.

“Me either,” Allura shrugged, “anyway, you can tell me if I’m wrong. But maybe that’s the reason why you’re so...twitchy.”

“You’ve got me,” Leandro slumped his shoulders, “I just...I want them to like me.”

“They will,” Allura encouraged.

“What if they don’t?” Leandro looked down, “like, even if we didn’t work out, he’s still my best friend.”

“Hey!” The girls protested together.

“My best guy friend,” Leandro corrected with another eyeroll and a barely contained smile, “and it’s a little scary to think about my best friend’s family not liking me. That’s not really an issue with you guys.”

“Right,” Allura nodded, “you and your family are like my family too, and if they didn’t like me, I’m pretty sure I would know by now.”

“But, you know, if they don’t like you, that’s not really something you’re gonna be able to stop,” Red pointed out.

“That’s super helpful, thanks,” Leandro narrowed his eyes, “I am being sarcastic. I am just letting you know.”

“No, I just mean, like…” Red paused, “You’re going to trip yourself up trying too hard. And it’s dumb to stress about whether or not they’re gonna like you like it’s something you have control over..”

“She’s right,” Allura agreed.

“I hate it when you guys are right,” Leandro furrowed his brow, “maybe a few less sweater vests?”

“Sweater vests?” Allura scrunched her nose.

“It’s a style!” Leandro defended.

“For white nerds,” Red scoffed.

“White nerds and gay men,” Leandro corrected.

Allura tilted her head and silently stared at him for what felt like probably like thirty seconds until Leandro sighed.

“No sweater vests,” he nodded.

“Aren’t lesbians supposed to be the ones with bad fashion sense?” Red asked, teasingly.

“That’s certainly what one would gleam from taking one look at your wardrobe,” Leandro said.

“Cheap shot,” Red looked up, “I will flip your suitcase upside down.”

“You wouldn’t dare,” Leandro braced a hand against the edge of his suitcase just in case.

“Oh shit,” Allura muttered as she checked her phone.

“What?” Leandro asked.

“Dude, we shouldn’t be distracting you. You have twenty minutes to go,” Red glanced at the clock on Allura’s phone.

“Fuck!” Leandro shrieked, “Fuckfuckfuckfuck!”

“Leandro, I hear you using that language up there one more time, I’m taking the ladder away!” Julia announced from downstairs.

“Sorry, Mami!” Leandro yelled back sheepishly.

“Okay, move,” Allura nudged Leandro out of the way.

“Hey!” Leandro protested, “What gives?”

“I’m packing for you,” Allura explained.

“Okay,” Leandro raised an eyebrow, “follow up, why?”

“Because you’re already worked into a lather and you just found out you have twenty minutes and I cannot for the life of me imagine this being a better condition to pack in,” Allura pointed out.

“I’m fantastic under pressure,” Leandro crossed his arms.

Allura didn’t respond, but rather froze with socks in her hand and stared at Leandro, unblinking.

“Okay, fine,” Leandro huffed, “but pack some nice clothes.”

“All of your clothes are nice,” Allura assured him.

“You’re going to tell me with a straight face that you would bring someone to a family dinner wearing a t-shirt for the band Pansy Division? Is that what you’re going to do?” Leandro asked.

“Uh,” Allura paused, “okay yeah good point. Not all of this is meet the parents material.”

“What are you doing?” Leandro asked.

“Uh, folding laundry?” Allura shrugged at what she assumed was some kind of trick question.

“Well, you’re doing it badly. My suitcase is almost full and that’s not even enough space for my laptop, my headphones, my-”

“Scoot over,” Red instructed.

“I’m packing absolutely perfectly,” Allura stepped to the side nonetheless.

Red proceeded to place the tee shirt over the jeans and fold them together.

“What are you-” Leandro repeated.

“When I was a kid, I moved around a lot,” Red explained, not looking up, “got into it a lot with other kids. Well, anyway, I was struggling to pack up. Didn’t have a lot but it wasn’t gonna fit in my little backpack. One of the older kids taught me how to do this.”

She pulled socks over the bundle.

“Cool!” Leandro beamed, “Wow, where were you when I was packing for summer vacation?”

“I was across the room from you,” Red blinked. 

“Well, can you show me how to do that when I get back?” he asked.

“Sure,” Red smiled.

“It does appear to save a lot of space,” Allura observed.

“Plus, if the outfits are already put together, I don’t have to stress about what goes with what,” Leandro added.

Red finished packing for him in no time and celebrated by taking a sizable handful of his jolly ranchers.

“Thanks, Red!” Leandro’s face quickly changed, “Oh, fuck, toiletries!”

He proceeded to bolt to the bathroom. It was a couple of minutes before Allura spoke.

“So, what do you want to do this weekend?” Allura asked.

“What do you mean?” Red furrowed her brow. 

“Julia is working all weekend, Leandro’s gonna be gone, Diego and Teresa are out of town, Penny’s gonna be over babysitting,” Allura explained, “oh, and Claud and Rose are doing florist things.”

“House to ourselves?” Red asked.

“House to ourselves,” Allura nodded, “what do you do for fun, Red?”

“Other than, uh, whatever Leandro wants to do usually?” Red asked. 

“Well, what did you do for fun before you and Leandro started hanging out?” Allura asked.

“I dunno,” Red shrugged, “Oh!”

“What are you Oh-ing about, Little Red?” Allura squinted.

“Well, when I was a kid, I made a lot of bottle rockets,” Red explained.

“Slightly afraid now, but go on?” Allura leaned forward.

Before Red could elaborate, Leandro launched out of the bathroom and threw stuff in from across the room with minor success.

“Jesus christ!” Red shouted.

“Sorry!” Leandro ran over to the bed and placed everything in the suitcase much gentler.

“Holy shit,” Allura looked at the clock, “don’t apologize. You’ve gotta go.”

“Thanks for the help, guys,” he kissed Allura on the cheek, “don’t burn the place down while I’m gone.”

“Red was thinking about rockets,” Allura said, “we make no promises.”

“Do you want us to walk you to your car?” Red asked, looking a bit tense.

“Nah. Thanks, though,” Leandro tossed his suitcase down the ladder, “see you guys Monday!” 

“Call us if you need anything,” Allura waved him off.

* * *

“I can’t believe we’re doing this,” Allura groaned.

“Okay. We have our soda,” Red was electing to ignore her, “aha! Garbage bags.”

“This is taking forever,” Allura complained, continuing to push the cart.

“I suggested division of labor,” Red reminded her.

“You’re not from here, though,” Allura pointed out, “I’m pretty sure we have floss and duct tape at the house.”

“That leaves a tennis ball,” Red nodded, “I can’t believe you’ve never done a bottle rocket.”

“I wanted to!” Allura explained, “They always looked really cool.”

“What stopped you?” Red asked, “Where the hell does this place keep their tennis balls?”

“Definitely not the cereal aisle,” Allura teased, “and well, my parents never allowed that stuff.”

“Huh,” Red furrowed her brow.

“Come on,” Allura led the cart to a separate aisle near the other end of the store.

“We should probably pick up takeout,” Red suggested.

“There’s food at the house,” Allura pointed out.

“Yeah, but we have cause to celebrate,” Red smiled, “I got the job at the surf shack.”

“So, you’re going to celebrate your one day of employment by spending the paycheck that you have not received?” Allura asked.

“You want food or not?” Red raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Allura admitted. 

“Okay. I don’t know what to eat,” Red added.

“You’re going to make me pick?” Allura asked.

“That’s the plan,” Red nodded.

“Easy. Indian food,” Allura suggested.

“Sure,” Red shrugged.

“You know, when I pictured having my first girl’s night, I was envisioning a lot less mythbusters and a lot more sex and the city.”

“Sex and the city?” Red repeated in disbelief.

“When I broke my rib, Julia made me watch the movie and the show. It...wasn’t bad,” Allura confessed.

“I reserve my right to judge you,” Red told her, “and I refuse to believe in a family of this many girls, you’ve never had a so called girl’s night, as lame and horribly girly as the name implies it must be.”

“Leandro is always there,” Allura explained.

“Even when you two were fighting?” Red asked. Allura shook her head.

“Not that I really need one, you know. They’re stupid. It’s just another thing that I kind of never got the chance to have,” Allura shrugged, “I mean. The girls I was friends with in high school would have them all the time. I just felt weird joining because, well…”

“Because you’re not straight,” Red finished, “I get it.”

“Telepathy at its finest,” Allura laughed.

“Well, while straight girls do makeup and talk about boys,” Red tossed a package of tennis balls into the cart, “we eat saag paneer and make bottle rockets.”

“That does sound significantly more fun, I’ll admit,” Allura laughed.

* * *

Leandro was close, very close, when he drove over a pothole and his absolutely beloved car gave him an ultimatum that was most compelling. Stop the car, or try to make it to Hunk’s on a flat tire, putting himself in danger. 

“No, no no no!” Leandro protested loudly as he pulled over. He checked the time. He was going to be late for dinner. Shit. Shit shit shit. 

He slammed his head against the steering wheel. But it wasn’t too late! He could call someone. But who? Diego was out of town, Rose was like, busy busy. Julia? No, she would kill Leandro for not keeping a spare tire in his car. Red? Red! 

He dialed quickly. To his surprise, it went directly to voicemail, as Red was in the middle of trying to build a bottle rocket and none the wiser to his perils. 

Allura was bad at answering her phone. But it was worth a shot. She didn’t answer either. Yeah, he figured as much. Fuck!

Finally, one last desperate idea popped into his head. He wasn’t even sure she had her license yet, and she was over at Diego’s, but-

“Sup?” Penny asked. She answered!

“Penny!” Leandro sighed in relief, “Okay. I need a favor.”

“I’m busy,” Penny pointed out, “twenty bucks an hour busy. Call someone else!”

“I _tried_. Nobody’s picking up!” Leandro defended, “It’s an emergency, Nena.”

“Okay, what’s up?” Penny perked up.

“Flat tire,” Leandro explained, “and it looks like rain out here, and I’m only ten miles from Hunk’s-”

“Use the spare,” Penny suggested. 

“Well I,” Leandro looked down, “I kind of don’t have one.”

“Mom would kill you if she knew that,” Penny said.

“That’s why I called you,” Leandro explained. Penny snorted.

“You pay me back,” Penny said.

“I’ll compensate you with tres leches,” Leandro told her.

“You were already going to-”

“Sopapillas too,” Leandro added, “and coke. The good coke that they don’t have in town.”

“Beverage or drug? Down either way, but-”

“Nena!”

“I was _kidding.”_ Penny insisted, “okay. Text me where you are. I’ll come find you.”

“You have your license? And a car?” Leandro asked.

“Leandro, what the fuck was your gameplan if I didn’t?” Penny asked.

“I was gonna tell you to go harass Allura in person,” Leandro shrugged.

“How was I going to get home?” Penny pressed.

“Nena, we don’t have a lot of time!” Leandro scolded. 

“Okay. On my way,” Penny said. Click. 

It was a long twenty minutes.

* * *

“Pass the tape?” Red asked, holding a piece of cardboard to the side of the bottle.

“Out of curiosity, how many times have you done this?” Allura asked, handing her the roll.

“I dunno. Definitely closer to a hundred than zero, though,” Red tore the tape with her teeth.

“Oh,” Allura said. She didn’t know what kind of answer she was expecting.

“Allura, it’s fine,” Red assured her. I’ve been doing this for thirteen years.”

“Thirteen…” Allura did the math, “hang on. You were seven?”

“Yeah,” Red explained.

“How did you even. What?” Allura raised an eyebrow.

“It was my first foster house,” Red elaborated, “one of the older girls showed me how. She was...maybe fourteen? We made two. She let me fire one. Floss? We did all sorts of stuff like that. Skate ramps, stair ramps, cherry bombs-”

“She let a seven year old do all that,” Allura handed her the floss, “and you didn’t set anything on fire?”

Red looked at her sort of bewildered.

“What?” Allura asked.

“Allura, my dad died in a house fire,” Red said in sort of a matter-of-fact way.

“Jesus christ. I am so sorry,” Allura felt the color drain from her face.

“It’s fine,” Red continued to assemble the rocket, “I mean. I guess I thought you figured. I told you my dad was a firefighter, right? Well. That doesn’t really mean anything. He could have been walking home from work and gotten hit by a wayward ice cream truck.”

Allura didn’t reply. She didn’t even emote.

“You can laugh at that,” Red assured her.

“I am not going to laugh at that,” Allura said, “I don’t make jokes about my parents, but if I did I wouldn’t want people laughing.”

“I didn’t say that you had to,” Red turned on the hose and filled the bottle up halfway. She placed it on the launcher. “would you like to do the honors?” 

“You built it. You fire it,” Allura protested.

“You helped,” Red retorted, “and beyond that, you’ve never done one.”

“Are you sure?” Allura asked.

“Sure,” Red stepped out of the way. Allura pushed down on the bike pump and the rocket fired off. 

“Wow!” Allura shouted, Look at it go!

“This is probably my best yet,” Red looked down, and her eyes went wide, “uh, Allura?” 

“Hm?” Allura asked. Red picked the parachute, attached to Red’s boot instead of the rocket.

“We should run,” Red instructed.

“What?” Allura asked.

“Run!” Red grabbed her wrist and booked it to the other end of the yard. The rocket planted itself in the concrete of the back porch.

“Tell no one?” Allura asked, eyes unblinking.

“To our graves,” Red nodded.

The two began laughing catastrophically loud.

“We’ve got to do that again,” Allura beamed.

“Totally,” Red agreed, “it could have taken out a window.”

“Not only that, but there would be Red and Allura shaped walls in the side of the house where we made our escape,” Allura added. Red laughed again. Slowly, they approached it.

“I wish you could have seen my dad’s rockets,” Red picked it up, ”they were badass.”

“Your dad built bottle rockets too?”

“Not bottle rockets. The real deal. Model rockets. Man, I wasn’t even allowed near them. But once a year, he fired off four or five. We lived out in the sticks, so it was just me and him,” Red explained, “he let me push the buttons to some of them. Even though he did all the work building them, he told me what a good job I did.”

Allura wanted to apologize again for the slip earlier, but Red was grinning like Allura hadn’t seen. She couldn’t spoil the moment.

“Your dad sounds pretty great,” Allura took Red’s hand. Red tensed a little.

“Thanks,” Red looked at her, “you wanna go do a movie?”

“Sure.” Allura said.

* * *

“Tio Leandro!” Tallie and Luke exclaimed as they jumped from Teresa’s car. Penny stepped out, carrying a toolbox. 

“Kids, we are on the side of a highway,” Penny said, “I told you to wait in the car.”

“But-” Tallie protested.

“Vamos,” Penny commanded, “if Isabella wakes up, you know what to do.”

Tallie and Luke grumbled, but complied. Penny handed Leandro a toolbox.

“You can get started removing this tire while I get the other one,” Penny instructed.

“Uh,” Leandro looked at her. 

“Leandro, are you serious?” Penny demanded.

“Well,” he chuckled nervously.

“It’s raining!” Penny pointed out.

“Not even. Sprinkling, maybe, but-” 

“Leandro.”

“Sorry! I didn’t figure you’d come if you knew that you needed to change it by yourself,” Leandro rubbed the back of his neck.

“Fair estimate,” Penny agreed.

“Look, I owe you big.”

“Uh, colossal is more like it,” Penny corrected, “move.”

It was silent for a while as Penny went through the motions.

“You’re mad,” Leandro observed.

“Duh,” Penny didn’t look up.

“What else was I supposed to do?” Leandro asked.

“Uh, if you’re going to have a flat tire with no spare and no ability to change it, you call a tow truck,” Penny pointed out.

“Yeah,” Leandro closed his eyes, “look, can we not make this a thing?”

“It already is a thing! This is the definition of a thing!” Penny huffed, placing the new tire on the wheel.

“Okay, okay,” Leandro raised his hands in surrender, “I’m sorry for disrupting your evening.”

“And?”

“For making you pick up a tire for me. And drive out here. And changing the tire yourself. In the rain.”

“And?” 

“I don’t know what else I’m apologizing for,” Leandro admitted.

“And for making me do that just so you’re not late to meet your stupid friend’s parents!” Penny finished securing the tire, and stood.

“Don’t call my friends stupid. And I thought you were cool with me going to see them!” Leandro folded his arms.

“You get to see him most of the year every day at school!” Penny pointed out.

“It’s only every other weekend, I don’t know why you’re making such a big deal over this,” Leandro argued.

“I already barely got to see you during spring break,” Penny kicked the toolbox shut.

“What?” Leandro asked.

“You went to school like a million miles away, and when you come home, you’re preoccupied with your friends and mom and Carmen-”

“I thought you liked my friends!” Leandro threw his arms up dramatically.

“I do!” Penny shouted.

“So then why-”

“It’s not the point!” her eyes were starting to water. She looked away. It was silent.

“So what is the point?” Leandro asked. Penny glared and turned to face away from him, “Nena, I can’t apologize if you don’t tell me what I did.”

“This is the first time we’ve hung out together, just us, since you went off to school. And it’s this. I’m changing your tire so you can go meet Hunk’s parents.”

“It can’t be the first time.”

“Think about it,” Penny said. So, Leandro did. He came up empty.

“Nena, I had no idea I was making you feel bad,” Leandro put a hand on her shoulder, “I’m so sorry. I should be making time for you. As crazy as things have gotten I just haven’t thought about it.”

Penny didn’t answer.

“How about this. I don’t work Monday. We can go to lunch and a movie. Just you and me, okay?”

Penny turned around. She looked at him.

“Really?”

“No Red, no Mami, no Allura,” Leandro swore.

“Okay,” Penny sighed, “I’m sorry for yelling.”

“I’m sorry for yelling back,” he took a step closer, “and for making you feel ignored.

She hugged him.

“Thanks,” she said.

“I love you more than anything in this world, Nena. You need to know that,” Leandro kissed the top of her head.

“I’m telling Carmen,” Penny squeezed tighter.

“You’d better not.”

“Oh my god, you’re gonna be really late now!” Penny let go of him, “You should go.”

“Are you sure you’re gonna be okay?” Leandro asked.

“I’m sure. Go,” she instructed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had a pretty long hiatus, but I'm back! enjoy =)


	5. Weekend at Hunk's

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before and during me writing this chapter, I had, like, a nervous breakdown because I swore Hunk was half black, like swore, and I was scrambling to find evidence of this, and at some point I became positive that I had somehow made the whole thing up, and I was frantically googling the Hunk pages of the Paladin Guidebook, and it turns out that if you google "Hunk guidebook" under images, all you get is a bunch of buff dehydrated dudes, which is the last thing a lesbian wants to see at eleven in the morning. Anyway, he IS half-Samoan and half-Black. Cheers.

Leandro wasn’t sure what to expect when he knocked on Hunk’s door. It had been a long trek to get here. He really, really hoped he didn’t smell.

“Hello?” A girl that looked older than Luke and Tallie, but not by much, answered the door.

“What have I told you about answering the door without looking through the peephole?” A woman’s voice asked.

“Bibi saa!” the girl rolled her eyes, “You could take him in a fight.”

Leandro cleared his throat.

“Right. Who are you?” the girl asked.

“Leandro,” he answered sheepishly. She looked him up and down.

“It’s the boyfriend!” she shouted back into the house.

“Boyfriend,” Leandro repeated under his breath. The woman he assumed who’s voice he heard approached the door. She wore a brightly colored sundress and yellow gladiator sandals. She wore her hair in bantu knots and a wide grin on her face.

“Leandro!” she greeted.

“Hi,” Leandro smiled. 

“It’s so very nice to meet you,” she said, “my name’s Mashika. I’m Malosi’s mother. Or one of them, anyway!”

She laughed. Leandro laughed too, almost as if trying to make polite conversation.

“This is my granddaughter, Rue,” she added.

“Hi,” the girl who answered the door seemed ill enthused. That was alright with Leandro.

“Please, come in!” Mashika said.

“Right, of course,” Leandro shuffled into the house awkwardly.

“Rue, would you mind taking Leandro’s luggage upstairs?” Mashika asked.

“Yes, Bibi saa,” Rue nodded, taking Leandro’s duffel bag from him.

“I’d be more than happy to carry it up myself,” Leandro said.

“Nonsense. You need to meet everybody first,” Mashika took his arm.

“Okay,” Leandro looked at Rue, “thanks.”

Rue just smiled and shrugged. Mashika led him to a door off of the foyer. He could hear people talking from behind it. It appeared to swing in both directions, like the door of a saloon. Mashika kicked it open. 

Leandro was met with a dining room table full of people, mostly women, by the by, who silenced their talking at his entrance.

“This is Leandro,” Mashika said.

“Leandro…” one of them repeated, whispering into an old woman’s ear, “the boyfriend.”

“Speaking of,” Leandro rubbed the back of his neck, “where’s Hunk?”

“Malosi is in the bathroom, combing his eyebrows,” one of the women answered, “I wish I was joking, I really do.”

“Don’t make fun,” Mashika scolded.

“Sorry, Mama,” the woman put her head down.

“Let me introduce you to everyone while we wait,” Mashika offered,

“Sounds good,” Leandro felt a little stiff.

“The woman with the mouth is Elisa. Malosi’s sister. You’ll have to meet her husband, Xander, another time,” she explained.

“Hi,” Elisa stood.

“And across from her is Nia, my eldest, and her husband Cory,” she continued.

Cory and Xander are the most bro names ever, Leandro thought.

“Cory and Nia are Rue’s parents,” Mashika explained, “the woman at the end of the table trying to remain awake is my grandmother, Grand-Bibi, who you may address as such if you would like.”

Grand Bibi looked older than time itself. She probably was. Mashika had to be pushing mid fifties.

“Next to Grand-Bibi is Rue’s little sister, Fiva.”

Lance nodded along and made a mental note of each relative.

“And this woman at the end of the table is my lovely wife, Nicole, who you may address as Nicole, but never Nicky,” she finished.

“Hello everyone,” Leandro greeted, “I’m Leandro. Well, uh, you already knew that, but…”

“It’s lovely to meet you,” Nicole stood. She was also smiling. Hunk’s sisters looked just like him. Nicole, though she was also samoan, shared very few similarities to Hunk.

“You too,” Leandro said. 

Hunk at last walked through the door. His jaw dropped as he caught sight of his boyfriend.

“Malosi!” Mashika greeted warmly, “we were just getting to know Leandro.”

“I can see that,” Hunk chuckled nervously, “I hope you weren’t giving him too hard of a time.”

“Us? Give someone a hard time?” Nicole acted perfectly innocent.

“You’re right, what was I thinking?” Hunk asked.

A timer beeped, 

“I’m going to get that,” Mashika stood, “Malosi, Leandro, have a seat. Dinner is served!”

* * *

“Okay,” Red said, “it’s been an hour. If we don’t pick a movie, the glare of the Netflix screensaver thing is going to blind us.”

“I hardly think it’s that severe,” Allura protested.

“Well, at least we’ve narrowed it down to romcom,” Red muttered.

“Do you know how many hundreds of romcoms that we have to choose from?” Allura pointed out, “Julia’s extensive collection alone is enough to watch movies day in and day out until the end of July.”

“Fine,” Red approached the movie case, “what about...The Proposal?”

“I will not, under any circumstances, watch anything with Sandra Bullock in it.”

“Why not?” Red asked.

“I’ve never liked Sandra Bullock. Don’t ask me why, because I have no idea. I absolutely can’t stand her,” Allura explained, “what about Sleepless in Seattle?”

“Pass,” Red sifted through the movies.

“Here, move over,” Allura joined her at the movie shelf, “The Wedding Planner?”

“Nope. There’s Something About Mary?”

“Not again, dear god not again,” Allura shook her head, “My Best Friend’s Wedding?”

“Not tonight. Ten Things I Hate About You?” 

“Uh, perhaps. Fools Rush In?”

“I’ve never seen that one,” Red admitted. Allura perked up.

“Does pregnancy bother you as a plotline?” Allura asked.

“Not much,” Red shrugged.

“It’s very very bad,” Allura informed her, “but it’s charming. It’s got loads of charm.”

“Sold,” Red told her, slipping the dvd off the shelf, “wait, hang on, is that the guy from friends?”

“I’m going to bully you relentlessly for even knowing that,” Allura teased.

“Well, obviously you would have to know if it was him to bully me,” Red pointed out, “making you as guilty.”

“So, if I don't bully you, my plausible deniability remains?”

“Yeah.”

“Schrodinger’s 90s sitcom actor,” Allura muttered.

“My knees hurt,” Red stood up. She looked at the DVD, “man, I’m excited.”

“Yeah?” Allura pulled herself up by the shelf.

“Usually, when someone makes me watch a romcom, it’s two white leads. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a romcom with a protagonist of color.”

“Are...you...serious?” Allura’s eyes grew enormous.

Red nodded.

“You’ve never seen Hitch?”

“I’ve heard of it.”

“Love and Basketball?

“Love...and Basketball?”

“Brown Sugar? Always Be My Maybe? Y tu Mama Tambien? Love Jones? Appropriate Behavior? Top Five?”

“Slow down, dude.”

“Saving Face? Margarita With a Straw?” Allura was hyperventilating.

“If I didn’t know any better I’d think you were making some of these up,” Red blinked. 

Allura stared at her.

“What?” 

“I’m just so...excited.”

“Excited?” Red echoed.

“All of my favorite romcoms, Leandro and his family have all seen them, I don’t really have other friends willing to watch romcoms. This is....”

“Should I be scared?” Red raised an eyebrow.

“Are you up for a marathon?” Allura asked.

Red considered this.

“Well, I’m terrified of your enthusiasm. But sure,” she agreed.

“After Fools Rush In, I’m running home to grab my DVDs,” Allura announced, “what do you think?”

“I think…” Red paused, “I think we’re gonna need more snacks.”

* * *

“And of course, after hearing about my parents plans to immigrate to America, Grand-Bibi was furious,” Mashika swirled her Rosé, inching closer to the edge of the couch as she spoke, “she and my father fought for what my mother said seemed like months before they came to a compromise. My parents would immigrate here for my father’s job, yes, but she was coming too.”

Grand-Bibi smiled and squeezed Mashika’s shoulder.

“My mother was going to get a job too, and my grandmother wanted to know how her grandchild was going to be cared for. She insisted on being the nanny,” she continued, “my father tried to argue, but Grand-Bibi is a great arguer. You’re going to leave my granddaughter with a stranger?”

Her impression of Grand-Bibi was supposedly spot on, but Leandro couldn’t really tell. Grand-Bibi hadn’t spoken at all.

“Who is going to teach my granddaughter Swahili? Certainly not a white sixteen-year-old,” Mashika laughed, “so that was that. I was born only a few months after they got here. When I was a baby, Grand-Bibi took me to preschool. That’s how I met Akamu, my ex-husband,”

“I still can’t believe you’ve known Tama Matua for that long,” Rue chimed in.

“Yes, we were instant best friends. My mother thought it was darling that I had him, and she was always joking about us getting married. Joke’s on her,” Mashika laughed, but then sort of recoiled. She looked down at her wine, “it wasn’t until I had already had Nia, and I was pregnant with Elisapeta that I met Nicole.”

“I moved to California to visit Akamu,” Nicole said, “but I didn’t end up leaving because I liked it here too much. After that, I was always just around. I helped Grand-Bibi babysit as needed. I helped with the cooking, cleaning, finances-”

“So, nothing changed when we got married,” Mashika said, and they both laughed.

“Except back then, we called her Auntie Nicole instead of Tina,” Nia whispered helpfully at Leandro. She’d been doing it all night, helping Leandro pick up on unfamiliar words, like Bibi-saa being a way to say grandmother in Swahili, or Tina and Tama being Samoan for mom and dad.

“It was a long time coming, me and Nicole. I didn’t realize it back then, but it was. There were feelings there for a very long time. My parents were just so conservative while I grew up, I never really entertained it until Akamu came to me. I still remembered what he said.”

She put on her best ‘Hunk’s dad’ impression, which, to Leandro, just sounded like her voice an octave or two lower.

“Mashika, I love you more than anything. You’re my soulmate, I’m always gonna adore you. And that’s the reason I have to let you go,” she paused for dramatic effect, “I said, what do you mean? And he explained with hesitance that he knew I had feelings for Nicole. I told him he was crazy and I slept in Malosi’s nursery. We didn’t speak much over the next couple of weeks, and over the next couple of weeks, I kept thinking about the last eleven years.”

“Next thing I know, she’s at my apartment at three in the morning. We talked about the way that we felt, and by sunrise, we had come to a very obvious conclusion. That the feelings that were there, we couldn’t ignore them.”

“We dated shortly after the divorce was finalized, and we dated for a long time. And we got engaged when Malosi graduated high school.”

“When I heard,” Grand-Bibi startled Mashika a little when she began speaking, “that they would be married, I was overjoyed.”

Her voice sounded a little like it was straining, like the sound of brakes with thin worn pads.

“I was never as old-fashioned as my son. People thought I might be moreso. No. I’ve always thought the most lovely thing about this world was that it changes.”

Mashika smiled brightly at her grandmother. Leandro could feel tears pricking his eyes at the display, but he didn’t cry.

“Nicole?” Grand-Bibi asked.

“Yes, ma’am?” Nicole asked.

“Would you walk me to bed?” she asked.

“Of course!” Nicole immediately jumped to help her up. Grand-Bibi’s room was on the main level, off the side of the staircase. Nicole closed the door after herself, probably getting ready to help Grand-Bibi to bed.

“It’s probably a good idea,” Mashika said, “for the young ones to go to bed too.”

“You heard your grandmother,” Cory said, “we should head out.”

“But Dad,” Rue protested, “we’re having so much fun!”

“Rue,” Cory warned.

“Can we spend the night?” Fiva chimed in.

“No, you can’t spend the night,” Nia was firm.

“But Leandro is spending the night!” Rue pointed out.

“Leandro is an adult,” Nia retorted.

“Give me one good reason!” Rue demanded.

Nia looked at Cory. They did not subscribe to “because I said so” type parenting, so they had to get crafty.

“Well, they only have so many rooms to go around,” Cory pointed out, “and as you said, Leandro is staying the night.”

“They can stay in the guest house with me,” Elisa chimed in. Nia shot her a glare.

“Yes!” Fiva practically shrieked.

“I wouldn’t want to intrude,” Nia replied.

“It’s no intrusion. I love my nieces,” Elisa insisted.

“Mama?” Nia looked to her mother for help.

“Oh please, please, Bibi saa?” Rue begged. Mashika and Nia exchanged a look.

“I don’t see why not,” Mashika said. Rue and Fiva cheered.

“Fine,” Nia sighed.

“Spoiled brats,” Cory shook his head, a smile creeping on his lips.

“I’m going to grab the extra toiletries and blankets from upstairs,” Mashika said, “Elisa, Nia, please come help me. I think we have to discuss some things.”

“I’m gonna go warm up the car,” said Cory, even though it was the middle of summer, presumably eager to avoid alone time with his brother-in-law.

The girls were barely upstairs a minute before they could hear shouting.

“You’re always undermining me!” Shouted Nia. Hunk jumped up.

“I’m gonna go help them, last time they fought, Nia threw a vase out the window,” Hunk scrambled to get up the stairs.

Leandro sighed. He almost forgot he wasn’t alone, until he noticed Hunk’s nieces creeping up the side of the couch.

“Uh, hi!” he greeted, as chipper as possible. Rue squinted at him.

“The boyfriend has a nose ring,” she observed.

“Yeah, it’s new,” Leandro raised an eyebrow, “well, the piercing isn’t new but it used to just be a stud. You know, you can call me Leandro.”

“The boyfriend is skittish,” Rue continued.

“Pretty earrings,” Fiva said, jingling the little dagger that hung from Leandro’s ear.

“Thanks!” Leandro smiled.

“Can we have them?” Rue asked.

“I made these myself,” Leandro said, which didn’t really answer the question.

“So you don’t wanna give them up?” Fiva asked.

“No, sorry,” Leandro answered.

“Can we try them on, then?” Rue leaned forward.

“Are your ears pierced?” Leandro retorted.

“No,” Fiva replied.

“But we have a sewing needle,” Rue suggested, “and a potato.”

“Okay!” Hunk interrupted, “Why don’t you girls race to the guest house?”

“Okay!” Rue echoed, running off with Fiva. She and her sister liked competition.

“Sorry about that,” Hunk said.

“It’s fine,” Leandro’s voice came out a little higher pitched than he meant it to, “hey, I thought we were supposed to share the guest house?”

“We were,” Hunk said, “but Elisa...well, it’s not really my business why she’s here. The point is that she needed the guest house, and I tried convincing my moms that I had dibs, but she’s older.”

“Ah. What room did we get stuck with?” Leandro asked.

“Well, heh-” Hunk’s awkward attempt to be lighthearted was interrupted by Nicole coming out of her grandmother-in-law’s room.

“Sorry about all that,” she looked around the room, “where is everybody?”

“Mama’s upstairs trying to keep Nia and Elisa from killing each other, Cory and the girls are outside,” Hunk explained.

“Guess that means the party’s over,” Nicole walked towards them, “but there’s still Rosé, and there’s still food, so we’re not letting you and Leandro go so easily.”

“That’s fine,” Hunk said.

“While we wait for the others to come back, why don’t I show Leandro to his room?” Nicole suggested. Leandro shot Hunk a look of confusion. 

“Maybe later, Tina,” Hunk said, awkwardly rubbing the back of his head.

After Cory and Nia left and Elisa and the girls split off to the guest house, the four of them continued telling stories that Leandro was sure were supposed to be funny, though they did still come off as charming, exchanging the occasional text with Red or Allura who were apparently having the movie marathon of a lifetime.

It was almost one in the morning by the time the mothers called it a night and sent Hunk and Leandro to bed. Hunk was, of course, in his old room in the basement, but Leandro was upstairs in Nia’s old room. 

He laid on the bed with his eyes closed for some time, trying to fall asleep. He wasn’t tired and it wasn’t working. His phone buzzed twice.

He reached for it, expecting goodnight texts from Red and Allura.

What he received instead was a photo of Red and Allura asleep on the couch from Julia, which he replied to with a heart emoji, and a text from Hunk reading “meet me downstairs.”

Leandro slunk out of the room in sheer confusion and crept downstairs to the basement.

It was not finished, but it wasn’t creepy either. Just a regular basement filled floor to ceiling with the most dramatic quantity of photo albums Leandro had ever seen. There was a door directly across from the staircase. Leandro had to assume it was Hunk’s. He slithered over like an aunt slithering into someone else’s business and quietly knocked on the door.

The sound of a bed creaking. Then nothing. The door opened.

“Hey,” Hunk said. 

“Hey,” Leandro walked into the room. There were a surprising amount of throw pillows in here, he noticed. The room was as colorful as Mashika’s dress.

Hunk kissed him.

“What was that for?” Leandro asked.

“Thank you,” Hunk said, “for doing this.”

“Meeting your parents?” Leandro tilted his head.

“Everything,” Hunk sighed, pacing around, “I dunno. When we got back to school, I was so busy with class and stuff, and I dunno. So far, this isn’t the vacation I pictured.”

“I definitely didn’t picture this much boy band stuff surrounding me,” Leandro teased. Hunk forced a smile.

“Babe, what’s up?” he asked.

“I don’t know.”

“Come here,” Leandro said. Hunk hesitated, so he repeated, “Baby, come here.”

Hunk stepped towards him. Leandro pulled him into a hug.

“I just...feel like we were so close over spring break. And now...well, I feel like, so far away.”

“I know what you mean,” Leandro nodded, “but listen to me. Hey, look. I’m glad we did this. I’m glad I met your family.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah,” Leandro smiled. Hunk smiled back. They kissed again.

Leandro fell asleep on Hunk’s chest.


End file.
